Raiders Indicate They Are Moving On From Derek Carr
The Raiders indicated they are moving on from Derek Carr in comments made by general manager Mike Mayock on Tuesday at the NFL Combine.
Carr still has three years left on the five-year, $125 million contract that briefly made him the highest paid player in the NFL back in 2017.
That said, his pre-existing deal has not kept the 28-year-old’s name out of trade and cut talks over the past few weeks.
Following the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, many began to wonder if perhaps the team would pursue soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Tom Brady as a way of making a splash in its new locale.
The logic would certainly make sense. Carr is not a favorite of head coach Jon Gruden’s since his arrival, and although he has consistently been solid as a starting quarterback, his lack of postseason success speaks for itself.
During a session with the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, Mayock was asked about Carr’s future with the organization. Specifically, he was pressed on whether the Raiders would be open to trading him.
Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock on Derek Carr: “Derek played at a high level last season. I’m very happy with Derek. But as I’ve said before, we will evaluate every position on our roster and if there’s a chance to upgrade, we will look into that.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 25, 2020
“Derek played at a high level last season,” he said.
“I’m very happy with Derek. But as I’ve said before, we will evaluate every position on our roster and if there’s a chance to upgrade, we will look into that.”
The lack of commitment from Mayock towards Carr there speaks for itself.
Carr has been a member of the organization since 2014. Everyone had really high hopes for him following his first couple of seasons as a starter, but he has since come down to Earth in a lot of ways.
That said, he still had an extremely productive 2019 season. Last year, Carr recorded a career-high 70.4 completion percentage and 4,054 passing yards.
Again, he is a very solid quarterback by any objective measure – but it is unclear if that is good enough for the Raiders. At this stage in the game they seem to be searching for greatness, and that is a standard Carr simply cannot meet.
Generally speaking, when general managers begin to openly speak about not being tied down to their starting quarterbacks, it is the beginning of the end of the relationship.
Will that be the case in Las Vegas? Time will tell.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
